Schedule says bye; Bulger says hello

When the Rams resume play Nov. 13 in Seattle, Marc Bulger will be their quarterback. Guaranteed.

"I'm 100 percent sure," Bulger said Monday as the Rams began their bye week. "I'll be fine. I'm not going to do much this week. But I'll be back."

Bulger said he planned to throw today to wide receiver Torry Holt, who is recovering from a knee injury.

The Rams are on a bit of a roll after posting back-to-back victories over New Orleans and Jacksonville. Still, interim head coach Joe Vitt said the timing of the bye couldn't be better.

"It's really perfect," he said. "It's going to give our staff a chance to get some rest, which they need. And it's going to give our players a chance to heal up. . . . We feel that after the bye, we're going to be almost full-tilt."

The Rams won twice to even their record at 4-4 without the services of Bulger (shoulder), wide receivers Isaac Bruce (toe) and Torry Holt (knee), and defensive end Leonard Little (personal leave) - all current or former Pro Bowlers. Plus, starting guard Claude Terrell (neck) and cornerback Travis Fisher (groin) were out Sunday.

Vitt said he expected all of them, with the possible exception of Bruce, to suit up vs. the Seahawks. Bruce has missed five games since suffering a turf toe injury Sept. 25 against Tennessee.

Holt, who has a strained ligament, tested his knee in a workout Monday at Rams Park. "I did some running, and things felt good," he said. "So, I'm shooting for the Seattle game. I'm going to be here all through the bye week and get some work and rehab, and hopefully I'll come back next Monday ready to roll."

That's when Vitt will reconvene the team and resume practice.

Personality change

The offensive personality of the Rams shifted significantly with Bulger, Bruce and Holt sidelined. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild called totals of 60 passes and 53 runs vs. the Saints and Jaguars.

Second-year running back Steven Jackson combined for 45 carries and 276 yards, including a career-high 179 yards Sunday. He will remain a major cog in the attack, Vitt promised.

"Steven has proven that he has the ability to take over a game, and I think that we have to play that card," Vitt said. "We have to try to get him 20 touches a game; we'd be crazy not to."

And when the stars come out again, Vitt noted, the Rams' arsenal will be cocked and loaded.

"When you've got Torry back and you've got Marc back - and we'll get Isaac back - now you're going to present some real problems to a defense," Vitt said. "They can't sit in an eight-man front, they can't sit in a two-deep shell. It's a real cat-and-mouse game now. So, it should be exciting."

Special circumstances

Rookie right tackle Alex Barron suffered through 15 minutes to forget Sunday. The team's first-round draft pick committed five penalties in the second quarter, including a sequence in which he was flagged on three successive snaps.

Vitt chose to encourage the youngster, not berate him.

"That's not the time to holler and scream," he said. "It's the time to pick the kid back up again and let's get him going in the right direction. . . . This kid's going to make some mistakes along the way; he's young. But he's athletic, he works hard, he wants to be a great player, and you have to work through those things."

Noting that Barron wasn't penalized thereafter, Vitt said: "He's got great pride in what he does, and he wants to be the best. Our football team has really kind of gravitated to him, because everybody likes working with him, everybody likes being around him. He's going to be special."